Tucker Car Corporation
Early in his career Preston Tucker and Henry Ford built and raced experimental speedsters but later in life, when he tried to form his own car company featuring a car of gorgeous styling, design and safety features, he was done in by his former friend.
Tucker, always inventive and willing to try new things, was famous for building racing cars use in the Indianapolis 500 Speedway and for inventing a high-speed tank car nicknamed the "Tucker Tiger". The Tiger featured a rotating machine gun turret, bullet-reflective metal plates, and shatter-proof glass that could be quickly replaced. Both the US and the Dutch armies loved the design but were worried that at a top speed of 35 mph, troops would not be able to keep up with the modern tank. However, the US Air Corps loved the turret idea. Tucker began to manufacture turrets for use in bomber plants at his factory in Ypsilanti (now occupied by Marsh Plating). Rumors abound that the Tucker Tiger Turret Car still exists and is in secret storage owned by Tucker's grandson, who also still lives in the town.
Preston Tucker was sued jointly by Michigan Senator Homer S. Ferguson with support from Ford, General Motors, Lincoln, Packard, and Chrysler on the grounds that Tucker was selling fraudulent stock bonds by which to support the production of his vehicles. Some historians feel that Tucker was being sued to prevent him from manufacturing a car that would force the Detroit Big Three and the other competitive car companies out of business or to drastically re-design their vehicles, costing millions of dollars. Either way, Tucker won the lawsuit but was financially devastated and bankrupt.
The first Tucker ever produced was a prototype sedan, known as the "Tin Goose". Fifty-eight frames and bodies were built at the factory. From these parts, 36 sedans were finished before the factory was closed. After the factory closed but before liquidation of his assets, Tucker retained a core of employees who assembled an additional 14 sedans for a total of 50. A 51st car was partially completed and owned by former Lionel Trains CEO, Richard Kughn. Forty-eight Tucker Torpedo's are still in existence, many in museums and private collections. Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola owns two Tuckers.
Sickened by the experience, he and his family moved from both their Ypsilanti, MI, and Chicago, IL, homes to Brazil where he designed the first gas cooled refrigerator and a Indianapolis racing car called the Carioca. While back in Detroit to patent his new refrigerator design and visiting his mother who still lived in Ypsilanti, Tucker developed pneumonia as a result of lung cancer and died in the Henry Ford Hospital.
Tucker, always inventive and willing to try new things, was famous for building racing cars use in the Indianapolis 500 Speedway and for inventing a high-speed tank car nicknamed the "Tucker Tiger". The Tiger featured a rotating machine gun turret, bullet-reflective metal plates, and shatter-proof glass that could be quickly replaced. Both the US and the Dutch armies loved the design but were worried that at a top speed of 35 mph, troops would not be able to keep up with the modern tank. However, the US Air Corps loved the turret idea. Tucker began to manufacture turrets for use in bomber plants at his factory in Ypsilanti (now occupied by Marsh Plating). Rumors abound that the Tucker Tiger Turret Car still exists and is in secret storage owned by Tucker's grandson, who also still lives in the town.
Preston Tucker was sued jointly by Michigan Senator Homer S. Ferguson with support from Ford, General Motors, Lincoln, Packard, and Chrysler on the grounds that Tucker was selling fraudulent stock bonds by which to support the production of his vehicles. Some historians feel that Tucker was being sued to prevent him from manufacturing a car that would force the Detroit Big Three and the other competitive car companies out of business or to drastically re-design their vehicles, costing millions of dollars. Either way, Tucker won the lawsuit but was financially devastated and bankrupt.
The first Tucker ever produced was a prototype sedan, known as the "Tin Goose". Fifty-eight frames and bodies were built at the factory. From these parts, 36 sedans were finished before the factory was closed. After the factory closed but before liquidation of his assets, Tucker retained a core of employees who assembled an additional 14 sedans for a total of 50. A 51st car was partially completed and owned by former Lionel Trains CEO, Richard Kughn. Forty-eight Tucker Torpedo's are still in existence, many in museums and private collections. Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola owns two Tuckers.
Sickened by the experience, he and his family moved from both their Ypsilanti, MI, and Chicago, IL, homes to Brazil where he designed the first gas cooled refrigerator and a Indianapolis racing car called the Carioca. While back in Detroit to patent his new refrigerator design and visiting his mother who still lived in Ypsilanti, Tucker developed pneumonia as a result of lung cancer and died in the Henry Ford Hospital.
